


Perpetua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

by rei_c



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: F/M, Kink Meme, Manipulation, POV Original Female Character, Request Meme, Sibling Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-08-26
Packaged: 2018-04-17 10:21:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4663035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rei_c/pseuds/rei_c
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Perpetua Canubuli is going to try her luck against House Abrasax. She'll be the first in a very long time -- and quite possibly the last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perpetua and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [this prompt](http://jakink.dreamwidth.org/724.html?thread=96724#cmt96724) at the anon kink meme. 
> 
>   _Lets say that in their way, all three of the Abrasax kids are 'mama's boy/girl'. They are rivals for Seraphi's affection and time but against all others they have a clear 'she's OURS, not yours, We love her the most' mentality._
> 
>   _Seraphi dies and the three broke, personally and from each other._
> 
>   _Too bad for Jupiter, the Abrasax siblings end up incredibly overprotective and possessive of their Mother's recurrence. Treat her as their adored Mother and beloved baby sister. When it comes to Jupiter, they happily (terrifyingly) show the galaxies what they can do when banded together._
> 
>    
>  _(optional)_  
>  _\+ Someone tries to take advantage of Jupiter. It ends BADLY._  
>  _\+ Other Entitled and governments are horribly terrified of a United House Abrasax._

Perpetua Canubuli, Matriarch of House Canubuli and owner of most of the Canubulum System, frowns. She's been hearing whispers and rumours all day, but now there's an Aegis ship requesting permission to dock and asking for a legal advocate to be sent on-board. She tells the airspace controllers to grant permission -- who is she to keep out the thrice-cursed Aegis, after all -- and heads down to the bowels of the Legal Advocate Android department. 

Ordinarily, Perpetua would stay as far away from the teeming masses of androids and splices and implanted humans as possible, but every level she descends into Orousian bureaucracy, she hears more and more. Of course, much of it is outlandish, everything from another galaxian invasion to an Aegis-supported and Legion-funded splice resistance group in the far delta region, but then she hears something that turns her blood to ice. 

Seraphi Abraxas has Recurred. 

There's no possible way -- is there? 

"Galaxy save us," Perpetua hears, on the records received level. "What do you think this means?" she hears, on the titles and legacies level. "Will they accept her?" she hears, on the registrations and renewals level, and that's the best question she's heard yet. 

Before, when Seraphi was in charge of her family -- ruling it with an iron fist, really -- the universe shook when she smiled and cringed when she laughed. Beautiful, intelligent, ruthless with a mind for manipulation that no one had seen before or had seen since, Seraphi Abrasax might have been considered the most powerful individual in the galaxy. Perpetua thankfully managed to stay out of Seraphi's way and off of her radar, but she remembers seeing her once at a party on a recently-Harvested planet. She wore a dress as red as blood, walked everywhere surrounded by her three primaries, and Perpetua heard that six other families went bankrupt that night and ended up grovelling to be second-level courtiers to House Abrasax. 

Seraphi dying was one of the best things that ever happened. And now her Recurrence is back, and here, and claiming her title? No. Perpetua will not allow this to happen. 

"Find a way to stall them," she tells the head of Intergalactic Advocates. "If you must, let her retrieve her title and we'll find a way to spin this to our advantage. Whatever you do, keep her with the Aegis or connected to the panting puppy following her around. Do not, under any circumstances, allow the Abrasax primaries to see her, meet her, talk to her. The house is broken and will remain so. Understand?"

"Yes, majesty," the splice tells her, right before a smile crosses its face. "I shall send one of our more -- personable units to her highness." 

Perpetua nods and turns to leave, the silks of her dress flaring out to the sides and leaving in their wake an echo of rustling. 

\--

Of course, nothing ever works the way it's supposed to. Perpetua orders the android dismantled and the splice killed, then watches the next few things happen with the hint of a smile at the corners of her lips. Titus Abrasax tries to marry his mother's Recurrence -- and doesn't _that_ just cement a lot of the speculation regarding that family -- and nearly gets away with it. Balem Abrasax tries to kill his mother's Recurrence -- again, according to the gossips -- and nearly dies in the process. 

Kalique Abrasax tries to do some measure of damage control in the aftermath but Titus is on planetary arrest awaiting trial, and Balem, well. It's a miracle he's not dead -- a miracle or a curse, depending on how awful his injuries are. 

House Abrasax is not even broken anymore, they're _shattered_ , and it's such wonderful news that Perpetua opens her pleasure garden above Orous and throws the biggest party the universe has seen in millennia. 

\--

It's another five months before Perpetua hears the rumours starting back up. 

"The Abrasax alcazar on Vela's been reopened," she hears. "Lady Jupiter's dropped the charges against Lord Titus," she hears. "Apparently, Lady Kalique whisked Lord Balem out into space and no one's seen or heard from either of them in weeks," she hears. 

Perpetua feels a headache coming on and she hasn't had one of those since Abrasax Industries attempted a hostile takeover of the Canubuli holdings fifty thousand years ago. 

She summons the heads of her intelligence, accounting, and internal review departments and says, "Find out everything you can on the Abrasax family, _yesterday_. I want to know what their financials are like, what ours are like, whether we have grounds to indict any of them, and _where the fuck they're hiding_." 

The raven splice that's been leading her intelligence department satisfactorily for the past five thousand years, raises his beak, says, "The Lady Jupiter moved to the main Abrasax alcazar on Vela approximately six weeks ago. We have informants on the planet but none in the alcazar itself; her guards have an impeccable nose for traitors. But we do know that the three Abrasax primaries have recently joined her."

Perpetua narrows her eyes, waves the finance heads away with their orders and stands up from her throne-like chair, strides over to the window overlooking the ugly mass that Orous has become. When the Abrasax family stands together, they're unstoppable. There must be something she can do to make sure that never happens again. 

Balem tried to kill the Recurrence. Titus tried to marry her and then kill her. No doubt Kalique had plans to do something as well. Surely there's something there to draw on, to use, to make sure that this -- this Jupiter will never stand at the head of her family with Seraphi's children behind her.

"What do you know of the Lady Jupiter?" she asks her raven splice, who hasn't moved and is still where he first dropped to his knees. "And I don't want her history. I want a list of her weak spots." 

"She has shown great loyalty to Earth, majesty," the splice says. "As well as to her human family and the tracker who was originally contracted to find her. She is close friends with Captain Diomika Tsing of the Aegis cruiser _Corona_ and Skyjacker Commander Stinger Apini, head of her personal guard. She has a soft spot towards, as she sees them, the underprivileged and overlooked, and a strange sentimental view of freedom and equality."

Perpetua takes that in and compares it to everything she's heard about Jupiter Jones-Abrasax. "Friends and family, then," she says slowly, thoughtfully. "Find a way to use this and then do it. I want results within a fortnight." 

"It shall be my great pleasure to do as you command, majesty," the splice murmurs, and leaves with a flutter of feathers. 

Perpetua stands there a moment longer, then places a call to Aegis Command. Someone there owes her a favour or two and it's time to call them in.

\--

Perpetua was born under an unlucky star, she feels. Six weeks since she sent out her splice with strict instructions, and six times she's received the head of a spy in a ribbon-wrapped box. She's not sure whether it's Lady Jupiter's guard or the Abrasax primaries doing the decapitation, but Seraphi also earned her own reputation and the thought that her Recurrence inherited the bloodlust Seraphi generally kept under tight control is chilling. 

Six weeks, six of her best spies dead, and nothing to show for it. She'd kill the head of her intelligence department if she didn't know that it was doing the best it could. Instead, she decides that she'd like to meet Lady Jupiter, take a measure of the Recurrence herself, face to face, no matter how dangerous a gambit this may prove to be. 

\--

If there's one thing that House Canubuli is known for, it's the lavish spectacle of their parties. Perpetua takes the time to make sure this one will not disappoint and then very carefully selects a guest list. Two-thirds of those invited are her family's allies, and the rest are either very high-placed in Entitled society or hate House Abrasax with a passion. 

Almost all the rest, anyway -- she invites the Matriarch of House Abrasax specifically and adds a note to the invitation that she should feel free to bring whoever she wishes and that the delivery splice is hers as well, to do with as she chooses. It's an obvious ploy and one that Perpetua hopes will take Lady Jupiter off-guard, that or infuriate her enough that her anger blinds her to Perpetua's machinations. 

The splice doesn't come back but the invitation's response does.

  
_On Behalf of Jupiter Jones-Abrasax,_  
_Matriarch of House Abrasax,_  
_House Abrasax would be Honoured to Accept_  
_the Most Gracious Invitation_  
_of House Canubuli_  
_and Inform the Hostess_  
_that Her Ladyship will be in Attendance_  
_with Her Ladyship's Three Primaries,_  
_Her Consort, and Her Guard_

  
Perpetua has always hated House Abrasax and their secretarial style.

\--

Meeting the Lady Jupiter is -- an experience that Perpetua will not soon forget. It's not so much her resemblance to Seraphi, as Perpetua had of course been expecting that, nor her fashion sense, as Lady Jupiter has affected a military-chic style that's already hit the haute couture scene with a thunderous boom. It's not the sight of Balem, Kalique, and Titus trailing behind the Recurrence of their mother, simultaneously jostling each other for every scrap of Lady Jupiter's attention and working as one entity to guide her and protect her. It's not even the presence of her majesty's consort, a well-built but defective lycantant splice that has most of Perpetua's other guests very aware of his every move. 

No, it's the look in Lady Jupiter's eyes when she finally meets Perpetua, Perpetua dropping into a shallow curtsey as befits one of the upper-echelon Entitled meeting another, and Lady Jupiter dipping her head in a brusque and barely acceptable nod. 

"I hear I have you to thank for my welcome to Orous," Jupiter says. 

Perpetua stills, feels the attention of the Abrasax primaries fix on her, sees the splice consort bare his teeth, hears the barely-audible buzz of the guard commander's anger. 

"I hear that your business's shares have dropped," Balem says, with a rasping voice that makes Perpetua shudder, " _drastically_." 

Kalique's smile is shark-like, for all that her expression mirrors that of her two brothers. "I hear you've had quite a few defections from your house recently. So hard to keep good help these days, isn't it, Perpetua-dear." 

"Such a shame," Titus says, and turns beguiling doe-eyes on her that cause her to shudder again, though this time in a manner completely opposite from her reaction to Balem. "To experience all these troubles, and in such a quick time, as well. Why, _I've_ heard that your house might even be in danger of losing your holdings in the Canubulum system, and your family one of the first to gain such prominence." 

Perpetua's heart skips a beat as silence spreads outward from their little group. She knows nothing about a drop in shares, nothing about defections, and not one hint of rumour that anyone might be putting together a takeover bid. 

Fucking House Abrasax, standing there, united behind a Recurrence of Seraphi that's smiling so sweetly and innocently. Perpetua wants to punch Jupiter's teeth out and make her bleed. 

"Too bad," Jupiter says. "I've heard so much about you and House Canubuli. I was looking forward to more of your parties, but I guess we'll just have to make the most of this one." 

She wanders away, consort on one side and guard commander on the other, leaving the three Abrasax primaries facing Perpetua. 

"House Abrasax is united," Kalique says. 

"And we are coming for you, Perpetua," Balem says. 

Titus leans forward, lips tracing the curve of Perpetua's cheek, and whispers, "You stupid, stupid girl." He breathes on her earlobe, sends goosebumps up and down her arms, and adds, "You poor thing," before he kisses her. 

The taste of his tongue in Perpetua's mouth is like ashes. 

\--

The humbling of her house is brutal and swift; it happens too fast for Perpetua to see the myriad number of ways that House Abrasax has burrowed inside and weakened everything almost to breaking right before the final collapse. 

Still, Perpetua holds her head up high as she searches out a place among her allies. There is no shame in gambling and no regret to be felt from losing to House Abrasax. 

Everyone does, in the end, but her house has the privilege of being the first in a very, very long time.


End file.
